By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Wednesday, January 20th. Please refresh for updates.
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Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock soared 13% after the streaming giant said after the close Tuesday that its global subscriber numbers crossed 200 million. It now expects free cash flow to break even in 2021 and will thus no longer need to raise external financing for day-to-day operations. Consequently, it will explore returning excess cash to shareholders via share buybacks.
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Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock rose 2.6% after the media company eliminated performance-based bonuses last year for top executives, as it looks to soften the impact of the Covid-19 fallout.
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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stock rose 2% after the investment bank posted a 57% rise in fourth-quarter profit, as its trading business benefited from coronavirus-induced volatility in financial markets.
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Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) stock rose 1.2% after the consumer products giant reported strong second quarter sales, thanks to continued demand for cleaning products during the pandemic. It also raised its full-year sales forecast, to an increase of 5% to 6%, compared with a prior forecast of a 3% to 4% rise.
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Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) stock rose 0.3% after the drugs giant’s Covid-19 vaccine, made in collaboration with BioNTech, was deemed likely to protect against the more infectious new variant of the virus, according to results of further lab tests released on Wednesday.
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UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) stock fell 0.8% after the health insurer reported that its quarterly profit fell 37%, weighed by costs related to its programs to make Covid-19 testing and treatment more accessible for its customers.
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Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) ADR rose 6.4% after Jack Ma, the founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant, made his first public appearance in three months following questions about his whereabouts.
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Pearson (NYSE:PSO) rose 5.1% after the publisher reported improving sales trends during the fourth quarter thanks to growth in online learning.